The word ‘Tweet’ is a registered trademark of Twittad, a sponsored advertising network on Twitter. In 2008, Twittad trademarked the word ‘Tweet’ after using the slogan “Let Your Ad Meet Tweets”. Twitter filed a lawsuit against Twittad in August in the hope that they could make the company cancel its trademark, but Twittad CEO James Ellison told the Wall Street Journal “Twitter’s users came up with “tweet”, the word is fair game”.
Twitter however believes it’s in the interest of their developers for the meaning of “Tweet” to be preserved to prevent confusion. Today Mark Ellison has told the Wall Street Journal that Twitter will drop the lawsuit and in return, Twittad will transfer the trademark of “Tweet” to Twitter.
In the Wall Street Journal report, Twitter has recognised Ellison’s statement and has said in a statement from spokeswoman Lynn Fox
“We’ve arrived at a resolution with Twittad that recognizes consistent use of Tweet while supporting the continued success of Twitter ecosystem partners like Twittad.”
We’ll keep you up to date as more details emerge. For now, what do you think the word “Tweet” means?
Tags : Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter
